NFS Form 10-900 OMB No. 10024-0018 (Rev. 10-90) ._..-.... ~-.~. < , ! ' - " : ' :'' . \ ,\ United States Department Of The Interior • \ National Park Service ; ; ,,,.__ I National Register Of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. 1. Name of Property historic name other names/site number Westville Village Historic District 2. Location street & number See continuation sheet, Item #7 not for publication NA city or town New Haven_____________________ vicinity ___________NA state Connecticut code CT county New Haven code 009 zip code 06515 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this_x__nomination __ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property __x_ meets __ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this properjyJje^jnsidered significant^^jattonally _x>4!^Statewide __ locally. (__ See continuation sheet for additional comments.) 12/06/02 iaJtffe of certi Date X*^ John W. Shannahan. Director. Connecticut Historical Commission State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion, the property meets __ does not meet the National Register criteria. (__ See continuation sheet for additional comments) Signature of certifying official/title Date 4. National Park Service Certification I hereoy certify that this property is: V entered in the National Register See continuation sheet. _ determined eligible for the National Register _ See continuation sheet. _ determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain): ___________ Westville Village Historic District New Haven. CT Name of Property________ County and State 5. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) (Check only one box) x_private ___ building(s) __ public-local x___ district __ public-State ___ site __ public-Federal ___ structure ___ object Number of Resources within Property Number of contributing resources previously listed (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) in the National Register Contributing Noncontributing 30________ __buildings sites structures objects 30 __ Total Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) N/A 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) DOMESTIC/Single/multiple/Dwelling/Hotel INDUSTRY/Manufacturing facility/Processing site OTHER/Masonic Temple Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) DOMESTIC/Single/multiple/dwelling COMMERCE/Trade/professional/Restaurant/specialty store/Office building INDUSTRY/Manufacturing facility 7. Description____________________________________________________ Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) Early Republic/Federal________________________________________ Mid 19 th Century/Greek Revival___________________________________ Late Victorian/Italianate. Queen Anne___________________________ Late 19 th and early 20 th C. revivals/Classical Revival, Tudor Revival Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation Brick, Stone, Concrete roof Clay tile. Asphalt shingle walls Wood, Stone, Brick______ other ___________________ Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) NFS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Westville Village Historic District, New Haven New Haven County, CT Section 7 Page 1 Description The Westville Village Historic District in New Haven, Connecticut encompasses a small but densely developed commercial area that continues to reflect the area's history as the commercial locus of Westville. The district runs 2/10 of a mile along a length of Whalley Avenue, which runs generally north-south. The district includes a portion of Blake Street, which runs perpendicular to Whalley Avenue, as well as Tour and West Rock Avenues, which form a horseshoe-shaped side street on the southerly end (see figure 1., attached district map). As the name implies, Westville lies in the western portion of New Haven, connected to the center of the city by Whalley Avenue. Although Whalley Avenue is now one of the main arteries out of New Haven to points west, for most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was used mainly as a common access road connecting the large holdings of the early land owners. Originally, the road to Westville and beyond was Blake Street. However when the Litchfield Turnpike was chartered in 1797, a bridge was built across the West River allowing access to Whalley Avenue and a more direct route out of town. The district includes thirty-four resources (buildings) of which thirty are contributing. Although the area began to develop as early as the seventeenth century, most of the buildings constructed in the village prior to the mid-nineteenth century are no longer standing. The extant buildings date mainly from the 1880s to the mid-twentieth century. Exceptions are a late-eighteenth century single-family Colonial house and two c. 1850 Greek Revival houses. The district is mainly commercial in nature, reflected in a variety of building types, including multi- and single-family dwellings with lower- level storefronts, commercial blocks, and industrial complexes. There is also a former hotel and two fraternal order meeting halls. The Tour and West Rock Avenue side street, which was laid out in the early twentieth century, retains much of its original residential character. The dense fabric of Whalley Avenue includes mostly late-nineteenth century houses built for a combination of dwelling and commercial space, and early-twentieth century one- and two-part commercial blocks. All are currently used by commercial activities. The few extant houses built prior to the mid-nineteenth century were originally single-family dwellings which served a different use at the early part of the twentieth NFS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Westville Village Historic District, New Haven New Haven County, CT Section 7 Page 2 century as the lower stories were converted for commercial use with storefront alterations. These early twentieth-century storefront conversions were in response to the needs of the growing outlying residential area. The oldest historic resource in the district is 914-918 Whalley Avenue, a c.1795 2 1/2-story frame house with its roof ridge parallel to the street. The roof has a boxed cornice with returns and projecting eaves. The building has a central hall plan with end chimney and clapboard siding. Windows have plain surrounds and sash. Originally built as a single- family dwelling, the house is intact, although the lower story is obscured by a storefront originally added in the early twentieth century, with later modifications (Inventory #32; Photograph #1) . 859-61 Whalley Avenue is a c. 1845 Greek Revival House that was moved to its parcel in 1905. Originally two stories, the house was placed on a raised brick foundation to add an extra story of living space (Inventory #17; Photograph #2). The other houses on Whalley Avenue are narrow, frame, Queen Anne-style structures with gable ends oriented to the street. Queen Anne elements include steeply pitched roofs, imbricated shingling in the gables, and decorative bargeboards. As noted before, many were built originally for a combination of commercial and residential use. For example, 904-906 Whalley Avenue was built for Frederick Roth in 1880 specifically as a shoe store and his residence (Inventory #30; Photograph #3). In addition to commercial/residential buildings, there are buildings that were constructed solely for commercial purposes. One- and two-part commercial blocks were constructed beginning in the early twentieth century through the mid century. Number 900-902 Whalley Avenue is a 2- story frame commercial block with a flat roof. Built c. 1910, it housed a tailor shop. The storefront received alterations up through the early 1980s (Inventory #28; Photograph #4). Number 898 Whalley Avenue was built in 1948 and was a retail store before being converted for restaurant use in the early 1970s (Inventory #27; Photograph #5). Several buildings on Whalley Avenue stand out because of their architectural merit or unique use. In 1926, the Westville Masonic Temple Association, Inc. built a Masonic Temple at 949,Whalley Avenue. The 2- NFS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 (8-86) United States Department